Sargent Public Schools business teacher Jan Osborn was awarded the Business, Marketing, and Management teacher of the year at the 2020 Nebraska Career and Technical Education (CTE) first Virtual Symposium on June 9.
More than 700 Nebraska CTE teachers, school counselors, administrators, and advocates connected from throughout the Midwest. The virtual symposium highlighted information and resources for the Nebraska CTE education community during this time of uncertainty.
Commissioner Matt Blomstedt and Scott Stump, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, joined the symposium to discuss the Perkins V plan approval and resources that the federal government is providing to CTE teachers.
The annual Nebraska Excellence in Career and Technical Education Awards and Richard Katt Outstanding Nebraska Career and Technical Educators Awards were presented during the symposium. The awards were co-sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Education, the Nebraska Career Education and Innovation Foundation, and business and industry partners.
The Excellence in Career Education Awards recognize outstanding Nebraska Career Education (NCE) programs and outstanding partnerships with businesses and individuals. Recipients were nominated by Nebraska career educators from across the state.
The Rich Katt Outstanding CTE Educator Award is given annually to a Nebraska CTE educator in each of the six career fields, who has shown exemplary passion resulting in action for Career and Technical Education. All finalists received a plaque and a $1,000 award. The six individuals were interviewed and the Richard Katt Outstanding Nebraska Career and Technical Educator for 2020 was selected. The winner received a special award and an additional $2,500, sponsored by Allo, a Nelnet Company.
Osborn has been with Sargent Public Schools for thirteen years as the business teacher, however, she was a student in those same halls the same amount of time. The students she teaches know that she cares about them and their future. She was instrumental in starting a Career Exploration day for 7-12th grade students, teaches four dual-credit classes, and supervises seniors in meaningful internship opportunities.
Jan is a life-long learner that is always eager to try something new in her classes that will help her students and their future. She especially enjoys projects and sees the benefit of student-run entrepreneurship opportunities. Sargent FBLA and her Entrepreneurship classes have run a school store- The Wolf Den (which has been open almost ten years), runs a healthy snack vending machine, and recently opened a coffee shop, called S’Cool Beans.
She belongs to several professional organizations, but is especially proud to be on the FBLA Board of Directors and the NSBEA board and serves as the Secretary of both. She is passionate about community, especially her community and is very involved in Sargent.
Not only does her husband and their family own the local packing plant, but Jan and her husband Mike recently bought an old building in Sargent that years ago was a hotel and they are working on restoring it.
